ICAN or the Institute of Charted Accountants of Nigeria is the sole governing body which ensures that all the accounting and auditing standards are met in the organizations doing businesses in the country. When it comes to auditing the most important part is that of Audit report and for the same reason while teaching the students the ICAN makes sure that a combination of GAAP or generally accepted accounting standards as well as the standards that particularly prevail within the accounting industry are taught.

Reporting standards

Following are some of the reporting standards or requirements that an auditor needs to fulfill to make sure that the final audit report that is presented has no errors or omissions:

The auditor needs to mention if the financial statements are in accordance with the Nigerian accounting standards. In certain cases the GAAP should also be followed and if this is the case it is also be mentioned in this report.

If such principles are not observed in a well-defined manner the auditor should also mention the special circumstances under which it was not possible.

Audit report should also contain reasonable informative disclosures which should support the evidence that has been presented in the report. In case these disclosures are not sufficient the auditor should mention it within the report.

The financial scandals in the past have incurred huge losses to the Nigerian economy so within the country the auditors and the financial analysts are very high in demand and they remain bust throughout the year.

Audit report completion checklist

Before signing the final draft of the audit report the auditor needs to make sure that all relevant matters have been addressed. In the wake of advancement in science of technology different software programs are used in this regard when it comes to Nigeria which makes the process of filing report very easy. Formerly the manual records were also used to compile the checklist but it is not the case now as different accounting software programs have been developed to aid the auditors.

Reporting and debriefing

Once the audit report has been duly signed the auditor now needs to ensure that it is presented to all the stake holders within the management and board of director. Once done a debriefing session is also conducted by the auditor to explain all the matters and concerns that are raised in the report. This debriefing may also include proper training and development of the internal audit teams of the company. Issues that arise within the audit are also addressed so that in future they are eliminated in full to make the process smooth and carefree.

That said, the rules which are mentioned within the ICAN accounting and auditing principles are changed from time to time making sure that the latest and state of the art standards are followed within Nigeria.